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I frowned at the words, wondering where they came from.
“Would you like to sit and talk?” he asked, pointing to the swing.
Sit and talk. I could do that. Maybe just for a minute. I slowly lowered my arms and gave a jerky nod as I walked over to the swing. I took up my usual position, leaving an extra gap between us, but he was so large that it didn’t leave as much space as I intended.
Every muscle in my body was tense as he sat next to me. Even as he gently rocked us, I sat stiff as a board, unable to relax even a little. This didn’t feel right. I shouldn’t be here—this close to another man. Ebarardo wouldn’t like it. It was wrong.
I stood suddenly and stepped away from him. If he found the movement strange, he didn’t show it. “I—I’ll get your daughter.”
“Okay.”
I gnawed my lip as I considered how to move past him, but before I had a plan in place, he stood and walked down the steps of the porch, clearing the path for me.
It eased something in my chest that I didn’t want to examine too closely, so I hurried inside and found his daughter in the kitchen with Vira. They were devouring milk and cookies, laughing at something.
I twisted my hands, feeling like a fool for the way I reacted when she ran up the steps.
“Hey, Izzy! This is Carli. I think she’s going to be our new best friend.”
“Yeah?” I said, my voice cracking.
“Apparently, all that’s required is milk and cookies.”
Carli smiled up at me expectantly, but I had no idea what to say. I was no good with kids. I’d never been around them, except for a few times. “Well, we usually have milk and cookies.”
The little girl’s smile grew wider as she hopped down from the stool. “I’m gonna ask my daddy if we can come back every day!” She took off in a flash, running out of the kitchen.
My eyes widened in horror, but Vira just shrugged. Were we really expected to entertain a little girl every day? I hurried after her, pushing the screen door open as Carli babbled to her dad about coming back tomorrow for more cookies.
“We’ll see. We can’t just show up every day at someone’s house.”
“Why not?”
“Because you need to be invited.”
“But Vira said I’m her new best friend,” she whined.
“Carli—”
“And best friends play together.”
The man sighed, clearly unsure of what to do. I didn’t know either, but I found myself stepping forward, which was very unlike me.
“Maybe—maybe she could come tomorrow to make brownies.”
Carli’s head whipped around and a huge smile broke out on her face. “I love brownies!”
Then her smile fell and her lip quivered. Tears pooled in her eyes as she looked to the ground. I made her cry. I didn’t know how, but I had somehow ruined this little girl’s day.
“Hey, baby girl. It’s okay,” Jason said, getting down on his knees. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. She buried her face in his neck and cried as she wrapped her arms around him.
I had no idea what I had done, but I’d somehow broken this little girl. Jason picked up the little girl and walked away without another word. Sighing, I turned and headed inside. I was never going to fit in here or anywhere else. I just didn’t know how to talk to other people.
“Did they leave?” Vira asked, peeking around the corner.
“Yeah. I scared her off or something.”
“Thank God!” Vira sighed, flopping down in a chair. “I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted with that kid.”